Episode 47 | Biological Breakthrough | Univ. of Nebraska
My wife Ashley first brought this story to my attention. Last summer I was having trouble coming up with guests for the show, and Ashley sent me some ideas while on her lunch break. “That’s very nice of you sweetheart, but…oh wait, this one’s pretty good.”
That story turned out to be the announcement that a team at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln shattered the theoretical record for hydrogen production from bacteria. Apparently, only 4 units of hydrogen can be produced from a unit of sugar. The team increased that to 5.7 units, or an increase of 46%.
Dr. Paul Blum, our guest and team lead, explains that they were able to do this by making the bacteria focus more energy on hydrogen conversion and less on reproduction (mitosis).
The bacteria they are using is Thermotoga maritima, or the bacteria you typically find in those thermal vents in the ocean. Dr. Blum says the high temperatures is one of the reasons these microbes are so efficient producing hydrogen. He also says these bacteria also make heat when they convert bacteria to hydrogen, meaning it would not be necessary to artificially heat the vessels as much.
In earlier episodes I discussed the benefits of cellulosic ethanol, whereby ethanol is created from the parts of plants we don’t eat, like corn cobs and stalks. However, unlike the ethanol that is distilled from corn and sugar (glucose), cellulose must first be broken down into glucose in order to be processed into ethanol.
Bacteria like T. maritima skip the distillation step by converting cellulose directly into ethanol, methane (natural gas), and in this case, hydrogen. Unlike corn or algae, the organism isn’t destroyed in order to make the fuel in question.
Dr. Blum says one of the ways this would work in a real-world setting would be to place his “Evolved Thermotoga” in an anaerobic digester, similar to what we find in a municipal water treatment facility.
Though there are certainly ways to produce hydrogen on a much more massive scale, the possibility of using bacteria to produce fuels like hydrogen, ethanol, and methane certainly will have their place. Plus it’s great to know that there’s an efficient process for consuming cellulose after you’ve finished a delicious piece of corn on the cob.
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